The Malta Federation of Industry and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology yesterday signed a collaboration agreement, seeking to pursue areas that could be developed for the benefit of both institutions and their respective clients.
The agreement was signed by FOI president Martin Galea and MCAST principal Frank Edwards during a media conference at the FOI’s premises in Floriana.
Both organisations pledged to provide a structured framework that would give MCAST students better access to the world of work, and deliver vocational education and training programmes for the diverse client groups.
FOI and MCAST also agreed to develop initiatives relating to the provision of industry-demanded programmes and courses, the delivery of talks, participation in international and EU projects, and the exchange and dissemination of Labour market intelligence and good practice for benchmarking and comparative studies.
In order to provide a mechanism to overview all aspects and issues arising from collaborative developments, MCAST and FOI agreed to establish a steering group consisting of representatives from each of the two organisations.
The FOI president expressed satisfaction that the agreement would provide for a framework that would gradually address the specific vocational education and training requirements of FOI members.
“Considering the constantly changing market scenarios, the business community has to keep reinventing itself to be more competitive, so it must be supported by a workforce that is equipped with the required skills and technological knowledge. This would help to ensure that each venture undertaken by a firm is sustainable,” said Mr Galea.
Mr Edwards spoke about previous occasions of collaboration between FOI and MCAST, including the preparation and dissemination of the Employer’s Guide to MCAST and more recently, the joint development of European Social Fund (ESF) project proposals. He said: “The agreement will build on the positive relationship already established between the two organisations and is probably one of the most important and exciting agreements that MCAST will have signed”.
“This agreement will be of great mutual benefit. It will ensure that MCAST is clearly linked to and in synch with several crucial sectors of industry. The college will be re-skilling people, so that they would be in a better position to meet the technical challenges of their jobs.”
MCAST staff and students will be able to benefit from a number of opportunities by means of FOI membership, said Mr Edwards, adding that the college plays a major role in responding to present and emerging economic imperatives as regards a knowledge based industry and economy.
He said the FOI is a highly respected organisation, both locally and internationally and the agreement is a clear indication of the confidence that the federation has in MCAST.